209 female MPs by 209 female photographers – in pictures

209 female MPs by 209 female photographers – in pictures

To celebrate the 100th anniversary of the first election in which some women and all men could vote, 209 female photographers have taken portraits of the 209 women MPs in the UK parliament. The exhibition, 209 Women, opens at Portcullis House on Friday. We look at a selection of the portraits

Theresa May

May says: ‘It is vital that women see politics as something they can do. That’s why this exhibition is so important and will be an enduring legacy to the 209 fantastic, inspiring women in our parliament’

Yvette Cooper

Photographer Hannah Starkey says: ‘The picture of Yvette was conceived from the idea of how to picture a powerful woman in an intelligent way. The location was a lucky find. Shot in a restaurant in Hackney, the background is wallpaper which had a clock with no hands. I recognised the reference to Cecilia Gonzaga’s work Innocence and a Unicorn in a Moonlit Landscape, which I had seen in the Met in New York and knew that Yvette’s profile would work brilliantly in this context. What was very rewarding was Yvette’s reaction when she first saw it. She immediately said: “Love it!”’

Rebecca Harris

Priti Patel

The photographer Rhiannon Adam says: ‘I wanted to be a part of 209 Women to celebrate female achievement. It’s important to remember and celebrate how far we have come. It also gave me the opportunity to share a space with someone that I disagree with on so many issues, but actually, we also share much common ground. As arts funding is cut, women are one minority group that is particularly hard hit. I think it is important to draw attention to the wealth of female, and female-identifying, talent here in the UK’

Tracy Brabin

Brabin says: ‘The 209 project is a wonderful and creative way to tip the scales of women’s representation in parliament. The photos are impressive and, in some cases, deeply affecting. The creative thinking around each photo, curated with great care is extraordinary. Like the
“ask her to stand” day when over 350 extra women descended on parliament, this expression of our right to be in this place is a powerful and political act’

Alison McGovern

McGovern says: ‘I’m proud to be part of an exhibition that truly captures the vibrancy of the women we currently have in parliament. 209 women photographing 209 women MPs reflects the spirit of the Vote 100 year. With such inspiring female artists and politicians, I have every confidence we will continue the fight’

Chi Onwurah

Onwurah says: ‘I wanted to be photographed in Newcastle – it’s not only where I represent but where I am from, literally and metaphorically – but in the end that wasn’t possible. I often feel that in parliament I am followed around by dead white men in tights, the portraits and statues which surround me. So to be shown in the black and white of Newcastle United looking out of the old Palace of Westminster is, I hope, both challenging and revealing – I am bringing Newcastle to Westminster and looking outwards. And it’s a nice photo too!’

Helen Whately

Seema Kennedy

Kennedy says: ‘Through the lens of a leading female photographer, this photo celebrates a contemporary female politician in a historically male room. St Stephen’s Hall was once the chamber of the House of Commons, and every statue in it is of a male parliamentarian. The photographer Julia Fullerton-Batten says: ‘I posed Seema standing demurely elevated on a pedestal of her own and eyeballing the rows of serious-looking statues. She flamboyantly holds her jacket aloft as if to say to the rows of silent males: “Here I am, a woman MP in your midst”’

Amanda Milling

Kelly Tolhurst

Nadine Dorries

Dorries says: ‘Before it became mine, my office has always been held by senior male MPs. The window looks down on the railings and the courtyard below where 100 years ago, the suffragettes would have held their protests. At that time, I am very sure that they would have been watched and commented upon. Standing on that very desk in high heels and looking out of that same window felt symbolic and poignant. It was all down to Jane, who made the photo look like a film still; that added to the effect and gave us both goosebumps when we realised what we had just done’